New Lives, New Choices, New Everything
by Riina Kwaad
Summary: Tensions rise between Xavier's students as two new mutants arrive, and unexpected events begin to occur.
1. Chapter 1

You know, just because someone's life _seemed_ okay on the outside, doesn't mean it _is_ okay. I think everyone has that going on in their lives. Everyone has some sort of problem at home or at school or something, but they keep their mouths shut about it and everyone else assumes they're just fine.

Some people have it worse than others. Some people are just stressing over grades or babysitting some annoying brats or pointless school-related drama that really shouldn't be happening. Others worry about their parents getting divorced or the death of someone close to them.

Me? I had to worry about genetics.

I know, that sounds weird. I mean, why would an average guy have to worry about their gene pool? I've got short blonde hair, hazel eyes, light and fair skin, and stand at five feet and seven inches tall. Average, right? Well, there's this advanced strand of DNA in my body called the X-gene. At least, that's what the people at the institute told me. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. That's what they called it.

After some weird stuff started happening a few days ago, I got a visit from Professor Charles Xavier. You can imagine how freaked my parents must've been when they found out I was a mutant.

"Erik's a _what_?" my mother had shrieked. "A mutant? How could this happen? Where did I go wrong?" She dramatically flopped herself on the couch across from the one I was sitting on, her dark brunette hair tangling itself as it fell down and around her face.

"Mom," I replied. "Just relax, okay? You're going to freak out the neighbors." I rolled my eyes.

"The neighbors!" she sat up straight, tucking her stray hair behind her ear. "What are the neighbors going to think?"

"Mrs. Williams," Xavier started, looking perfectly calm and composed in his wheelchair, despite my mom's overdramatic reaction. "I can assure you, Erik would be perfectly safe from anyone else's," he paused, trying to find the right words to use, "negative input on the nature of his being."

Unfortunately my father was still at work; otherwise he'd be able to keep my mom calm enough to at least consider that this Xavier guy might be right. He'd be freaked out too of course, but at least he'd keep her from putting on a one-person tragedy play.

I rolled my eyes again while Xavier went on, "Of course he'd still be attending school. Education is a top priority for our students."

My mother sighed. "How did this ever happen?" she asked and shook her head in disapproval.

"Hey mom," I said. "It's really not that big of a deal."

"Have you seen the riots people cause?" she snapped back at me. "These…anti-mutant groups. They just live to torture people like you!"

_People like me?_ I repeated in my head. The way she was speaking made her sound like she actually agreed with those stupid anti-mutant groups!

"Erik would be in the safety of the institute," Xavier put in before I could say anything. "Our security system is guaranteed to keep unwanted visitors out. Our students are perfectly safe."

My mom seemed to be thinking about something as she lied back down on the couch. "A mutant…" she muttered. "A mutant in my own family. In my own house…"

I resisted the urge to shout at her. She was really bugging me with the way she kept talking about mutants like they were the most revolting thing on the planet.

_Don't be angry at her,_ I heard the Professor's voice, but when I looked at him, his mouth wasn't moving. _Your mother, like many others, is having a difficult time understanding who you are and what you can do._

_Wh-what…?_ I thought, and he smiled in what looked like light amusement.

_I can enter your mind, Erik. But don't be afraid. I can channel and read into your thoughts, but I would never use it as a tool against you._

I nodded. _Oh, okay, uhh… _I mentally stuttered, not quite knowing how to respond to him. _Good to know…_ I finally replied.

He gave me a warm smile before facing my mother again. "Would you be so opposed with the idea of him continuing his studies at my school for gifted children such as himself?" he asked her.

She sat up again and gave him a sarcastic, almost criticizing look. "Gifted?" she repeated. "There's nothing _gifted_ about Erik being a… a…" she hesitated, trying to find the right phrasing. "One of you!" she finally decided upon. "He'll be branded as a freak for the rest of his life!"

"Gee, thanks mom," I replied sarcastically.

"Mrs. Williams," Xavier went on. "I understand your concern, and let me assure you that I'm not going to force you to let Erik to come back with me. You are his legal guardian, after all."

"Erik…" she turned to me. "Why would you do this to me?"

"Like I had a choice?" I replied coldly. "I didn't ask for this… X-gene, or whatever it is. It's something in my DNA, something I was _born_ with."

"Then why _now_?" she asked. "Why are you changing _now_?"

"Nothing's changed, mom!" I almost shouted. "I'm still the same person I was a week ago!"

After a while of indirect insults and pointless conversation between Xavier and my mom, my dad finally came home through the front door.

He closed the door and turned to us, a confused look on his face. "What's going on here?" he asked after seeing the Professor in our living room.

After being explained to the situation, and talking to Xavier alone, my dad was able to convince my mom to let me go with the Professor back to the institute without causing a scene about it. I remember him saying something about being able to be my own person, no matter who that person was. Yeah, my dad was kind of freaked with the fact that his son was a mutant, but he was a lot more understanding than my mother.

And that brings us back to the present. Xavier gave me the weekend to pack and get all my stuff together. We were on winter break, so I wouldn't have to worry about going to school for a couple weeks. I had plenty of time to settle into the institute and get used to the way things worked.

My father dropped me off in front of the main gates, and I waved goodbye to him as he drove off. Then I turned and faced the gate, my bags slung over my shoulders. "Well, here goes nothing," I muttered to myself.


	2. Chapter 2

When I turned to face the main gates, I thought they would be closed. Instead, they were wide open. Not knowing why, I looked around me. I didn't see anything that would cause suspicion or worry, so I simply shrugged, slung my bags over my shoulder, and took a step forward.

As I continued to walk forward, I saw something rushing towards me. After a second, I recognized it as a person hurling forward at inhuman speed. I dropped my bags and quickly jumped to the side just as he was about to hit me. I sort of did a tuck and roll as I hit the ground, then looked behind me to see that the person who was rushing towards me had crashed into a nearby tree. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and relaxed my tense muscles. I heard collective laughing over to my right and turned my head to see a group of kids, probably around my age by the look of it, walking over to the one who crashed.

"Nice one, Sam!" I heard a familiar voice shout.

"Bobby…?" I muttered. I recognized Bobby Drake from school. We had a few classes together at Bayville High, but he wasn't exactly a close personal friend of mine. Not that I didn't like him or anything, we just never hung out.

"That's the third time this week he's crashed into something!" I heard a female voice exclaim. Sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite recognize it.

Bobby sort of jogged over to Sam, who was just lying down at the base of the tree he hit. He held out his hand to him, still laughing. "You okay, Sam?"

Sam took Bobby's hand as Bobby helped him get to his feet. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said with a small laugh. Now I could recognize Sam more clearly. Sam Guthrie was another student at Bayville High. I didn't have any classes with him, so I didn't see him around very often.

Feeling kind of awkward and not knowing what to do, I stood up, dusted myself off, and walked over to pick up my stuff that I dropped when Sam came charging at me.

"Erik?" I heard Bobby call me. "You're here, too?" The surprise in his voice was obvious.

I turned to face him. "Oh, uh… Hey, Bobby. Yeah, I just got here."

"The Professor didn't tell us anything about a new kid coming," Sam said, obviously confused.

I shrugged, not exactly sure what to say. I mean, what was I supposed to know about this place, other than the fact I was here?

"Well, you're in for the time of your life!" Bobby exclaimed.

"What's going on over there?" I heard an older male voice calling. "Everything okay?"

Bobby cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted back, "Everything's fine! Sam didn't mess himself up too bad this time!"

I saw Sam roll his eyes, but he smiled nonetheless.

"Who's that?" I asked, looking off into the direction I heard the voice.

"Oh, that's the Beast," Bobby replied. "We're in training right now. We're lucky Wolverine is away right now, otherwise we'd be dead meat by now." He gave kind of a sheepish grin. I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Training?" I repeated.

"You know, training our powers?" Bobby replied. "So we don't accidentally blow anything up or knock anything down." He and Sam exchanged looks.

"Oh, okay…" I slowly nodded. I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but I figured I'd be part of it eventually. Wouldn't I?

"Everything okay over here?" I heard the same voice as before, only this time he was closer by. I looked again and saw the person who I guessed Bobby referred to as the Beast earlier. He had dull blue fur covering his body, and a darker blue shade of hair on his head.

"Check it out, Mr. McCoy," Bobby said excitedly.

Mr. McCoy? I recognized that name from school. He used to be Bayville High's gym coach and one of its chemistry teachers. So this is where he ended up, huh?

"We've got a new student to break in!" Bobby continued.

"Ah, I see," Mr. McCoy replied. "And who would this new student be?" He looked at me and gave me a warm and friendly smile.

"Uh, Erik Williams, sir," I replied.

"Well, Erik Williams, welcome to Xavier's. You came just in time, too. I was about to take these kids to the Danger Room."

"Seriously?" and surprised Sam said. "Even after what happened last time?"

Mr. McCoy let out a low chuckle. "Practice makes perfect, Sam."

"Um… Danger Room?" I interjected.

Mr. McCoy nodded. "That's where we do our more… intense training." He gave me a wry smile.

"Sounds, well, um… Sounds dangerous," I let out a small, nervous laugh.

"That's the point!" said an all too excited Bobby. "Race you there, Sam!" he exclaimed as I saw him produce a trail of, check this, _ice_ before him. As he produced more ice from his hand, he seemed to effortlessly "skate" across it and over to the mansion.

"Oh no you don't!" was Sam's reply, as he produced a running start, then jumped slightly in the air as the lower half of his body transformed into what appeared to be a miniature tornado, and in the blink of an eye, he was racing forward, headfirst, right behind Bobby.

Mr. McCoy let out a playful laugh as a few other kids I could barely recognize ran ahead in pursuit of Bobby and Sam. He looked back at me with a smile. "Well, are you coming?"

I nodded, and went over to collect my fallen bags. I then followed Mr. McCoy to the vast mansion.

This was definitely going to need some getting used to.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Max**_

_Okay, I can do this…_ I thought as I faced my opponents. They looked tough. And I _knew_ they were. _I can do this… _I thought again as my body tensed for what I knew what going to happen.

The Cajun was one of the more capable mutants here. Sabretooth was just… violent. But going up against more than one of them at a time at the level I was at would be like committing suicide.

So naturally, I accepted.

Gambit looked at me with a wry grin on his face. I knew what that meant. He took out a deck of cards, and instantaneously they began to glow with a dangerous fiery look to them. He separated one from his deck, and flung it towards me with a Frisbee motion.

I quickly dodged with a tuck-and-roll, and watched as it exploded on impact with the wall behind me. I'm telling you, those things were deadly. Not that Gambit would ever try to kill me. Intentionally. He was kind of like my big brother. My annoying, lethal big brother. I stood and quickly anticipated where he would strike next, and dodged just in time. "You're not getting rusty, are you?" I called to him mockingly. "Losing your touch?"

"Please, cher," he replied calmly in his Cajun accent, displaying a cocky smile. "I wasn't even trying."

I jumped about ten feet in the air and did a graceful back flip just as Gambit hurled another flaming explosive card at me. Instinctively, I landed on my feet.

Okay, I admit I don't have any cool powers that could actually help me in a fight. That doesn't mean I couldn't take care of myself, but being able to throw a few explosives here and there could come in handy, too. No, instead I was created with heightened senses of smell and sound. And I literally mean _created_.

But more on that later.

I can hear the sound waves any object gives off and smell anything with even the slightest odor from miles away. So it was no surprise to me when Pietro rushed up from behind me and up to Gambit and Sabretooth.

"Game's over guys," he said flatly to them. "She's gotta go to school."

"Pfft," I scoffed. "School."

He turned to face me. "You don't like it?" he said in a challenging tone. "Take it up with my father."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. "Whatever. School's just a waste of time," I muttered. "And it's so boring!"

Gambit let out a low chuckle. "How would you know? This is only your first day. Go on, cher. Go learn something, make some friends."

Sabretooth had been especially quiet, even with my heightened hearing. He didn't even let out a growl, like he usually did. Hell, he didn't even try to strike a blow today! He just kept glaring at the floor, looking like he was really pissed about something.

I decided to ignore it for now. When Sabretooth was mad, you didn't want to mess with him.

"Why do I need friends when I've got _you_ guys ruining my life," I replied sarcastically.

"What else do you expect from the LeBeau family charm?" he smirked.

"Of course," I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't help but smile. I liked Gambit. He was funny, in his own way. Okay, before you say anything, _no_, I don't like him that way. Can we say _ew_? I told you, he was like family. Besides, I'm not interested in anyone right now, and probably won't be for a while.

"Alright, cher," he said. "Go to school before Pietro here throws a temper tantrum for the millionth time this week." With that said, he exited the room, grabbing his long coat and carelessly putting it on.

I noticed Sabretooth still hadn't moved much or said anything since my training session started. I shrugged, and started to walk away myself when the ever-so-tiresome Pietro ran over to me, blocking my path. This guy really got on my nerves.

"What do you want now?" I asked, aggravated. "I've got places to be."

"I need you to put your echolocation in good use and listen in on someone for me," he said flatly.

"Again?" I groaned. "Seriously, Pietro, just leave me alone." I tried to walk past him, but he was fast. Like, really fast. "I'm done eavesdropping for you. Besides, last time I tried, I almost went deaf." I still hadn't quite perfected my hearing yet, so things could get a little too loud for my taste. And let me tell you; there are some things on this planet that can never be unheard. I almost shuddered at some of the memories.

"Well you've been working on it, haven't you?" He crossed him arms over his chest.

I hated how he automatically thought that just because his father was a big deal around here, I'd actually _want_ to do anything he told me. Yeah, maybe in a million years or so. Maybe.

"Isn't that why I'm here?" I retorted. "I'm here to get better, not to take orders from a conceited—"

"This time it's important," he cut me off.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, for what was probably at least the tenth time in the past . He'd told me that the past five times already, so I guessed I couldn't get out of this. Defeated, I asked him, "Who is it this time?"

"Take a wild guess," he replied, in the half-evil, half-insanely annoying way he always used.

"Again?"

He nodded, "Again."

"Alright, let me see what I can do…" I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, concentrating, letting my sense of hearing expand outward, and pinpointing it to a specific place.

* * *

_**Erik**_

"Alright Erik," Bobby said and turned to face me. We were sitting in a circle on the floor in one of the larger rooms downstairs. "Your turn. Truth or dare?" Some of the other kids looked at me, a range of emotions apparent on their faces; excitement, boredom, tiredness. Typical morning for a teenager.

I rolled my eyes. I had absolutely no idea why I was playing this, but I had some time to kill before school started. Plus, Jubilee wouldn't leave me alone otherwise. But I guess there's some fun benefits to playing T or D with mutants.

"Truth," I replied.

Bobby laughed and lightly punched me on the shoulder. "What's the matter? You haven't done a dare since we started!"

I smirked. "With you calling the shots, I'm almost afraid to."

Jubilee let out a giggle. "Just ask him a question, Bobby," she said between giggles.

He rubbed his head, trying to think of a challenging question for me. Probably one that I would regret answering later.

He snapped his fingers, as if he had just come up with some genius idea. "Oh! I've got one!"

I chuckled. "Alright, shoot."

"You haven't told us what you can do yet," he said as a matter-of-factly.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Come again?"

"You know, what your powers are. You've been here for two weeks already, and you haven't told us! Is it something cool?"

I looked down. "Oh, my powers. Right, almost forgot about those."

"You okay?" Jubilee asked me, concern both in her voice and her eyes.

I nodded slowly, "Yeah, I'm just not really used to talking about my powers with someone who doesn't think I'm a freak, that's all."

"Oh…" she replied. She sounded almost guilty, in a way, like she'd done something wrong. "Well, we're all friends here, right?"

I looked up at her and smiled. "Yeah, of course we are."

"So what _can_ you do, dude?" Sam asked me, leaning against the couch behind him.

Instead of just telling him, I decided to show him. I closed my eyes to concentrate, and my body began to morph. In seconds, I was a perfect copy of Sam, taking on his tan skin, blonde hair that went down to his eyes, I even got the clothes perfect. "I'm a shape shifter," I said in his voice.

"Whoa, that's_ awesome_ dude!" I heard an amazed Bobby say.

I went from looking like Sam and took on the appearance of Bobby. I shrugged and in his voice I replied, "Yeah, I guess. I could use some practice though," I admitted.

Bobby raised an eyebrow and smiled at me. "I don't know, you're looking pretty good right now," he said, obviously admiring the image of himself as though he were staring at a mirror.

I laughed and returned to my original form. "Alright Jubilee, your turn. Truth or dare?"

"Dare!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, looking like she wanted to jump up and down.

"Alright, um…" I paused, tying to think of a sufficient dare that would be fun enough to do, watch, and avoid trouble all at the same time. Yeah, like that could ever happen. "I dare you to…blow something up?"

Bobby and Sam exchanged looks. "If we get caught," Sam said, "I'm denying ever being a part of this."

Jubilee looked around. "Okay, umm… Oh, how about the tree outside by the fountain?"

I shrugged, "Go for it." I followed her lead and stood up, following her through the glass doors that lead to the grassy fields outside. Bobby and Sam did the same, while the others stayed inside, preferring to watch from a safer distance.

"Alright, I suggest you take a few steps back," Jubilee said as she stretched her arm forward, pointing it to a tree. In the blink of an eye, what looked like colorful fireworks had escaped from her hand and raced over to the trunk of the tree, instantly setting it ablaze. She lowered her arm and laughed, "Well, that was fun!"

In the next second, I heard sirens and saw red flashing lights coming from the mansion.

"Intruder Alert!" I heard a mechanical voice repeat over and over, above the sirens.

Bobby groaned, "Nice going, Jubilee! Now we're _definitely_ going to be late for school!"

* * *

_**Max**_

"AHH!" I screamed, and sank down to my knees. I had covered my ears, and I could still hear that awful explosion ringing in my head. When it was finally over, I looked up at Pietro, who was looking down at me expectantly. "No. More. Eavesdropping," I said angrily. No way was I going to go through that again,

He rolled his eyes like it was no big deal, like I was over exaggerating. "Yeah yeah yeah," he replied, shrugging off the fact that I was obviously in pain and shock. I mean, who the hell blows up a tree for _fun_? Well, I mean, besides Gambit. "So what did you hear?"

I slowly got up, still recovering from the ringing in my head. "They're just playing games," I replied. "Really loud games." I started rubbing my right temple, trying to ease the incoming headache.

"Games?" he raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Anything else? Anything important?"

"Sounds like they're got a new freak on board," I told him in an annoyed tone. Why did he need me to tell him this? He could've just run over there and back before I could even notice he was gone. "A shape shifter."

He looked down and lightly rubbed his chin in thought. "Huh… well alright then."

I let out an exasperated breath. "Can I go now? I'm going to be late for school." I almost gagged on that last word. I really didn't like other people, except occasionally some of the other guys here in the Brotherhood. Then again, I grew up with them, so I've gotten used to all their quirks.

"Yeah yeah, just get out of here already," he waved his hand at me in a dismissive manner.

I bolted out of there as quickly as I could, glad to get away from the bane of my existence. I heard Sabretooth skulking out afterwards, growling to himself, and thought, _What's his problem?_ Well, besides the usual, I mean.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Erik**_

After a serious scolding from Scott Summers and Jean Grey, who I found out to be teachers over at the institute, Scott and a few of the older kids gave us a ride to school. Scott and Jean graduated last year, so he didn't stick around.

"Stay out of trouble, guys!" he called before he drove off. "I mean it!"

And of course, thanks to Jubilee's light show, we were running to first period, which in my case was Honors Chemistry. I ran in my classroom right as the bell rang, and noticed that Ms. Gale, our teacher, hadn't arrived yet. I breathed a sigh of relief and made my way to my desk. I dropped my bag to the floor and took out my notebook, pages full of various notes from the discovery of the atom, results of different labs we've done, various balanced chemical equations, and random doodles drawn out of boredom. I opened it to the first blank page and got ready to take even more of Ms. Gale's lecture notes. In the meantime, I was surrounded by a room of kids talking about how their winter break was, what they got for Christmas, all that good stuff. I spent my vacation getting settled in the House of Freaks, but no one here needed to know that, right?

A few minutes later, Ms. Gale walked in, carrying her books in her arms. Ms. Gale was a fun teacher. She was in her late twenties, with short highlighted blonde hair, and would always wear decorative sweaters to school. She was huge on recycling, saving the planet, all that good stuff. And she absolutely loved animals.

"Sorry I'm late, class," she said tiredly as she set her stuff down at her desk. "My cats like to use my lesson plans as beds sometimes."

There were a few laughs here and there, from myself included. Ms. Gale had quite a few of her pet stories that usually made us laugh.

"I hope everyone reviewed over break, because we're going to start out the new week with a verbal pop quiz," she said in a cheery voice.

There were several groans of displeasure from around the room in response.

Ms. Gale let out a small laugh. "Don't worry, guys, this won't count for a grade." She went behind her desk and opened one of the bottom drawers, taking out a medium sized bag. "Who wants candy?" she said with a cheerful smile.

I chuckled and smiled to myself. As much as I absolutely despised Chemistry, Ms. Gale somehow always made it interesting.

"Alright," she continued. "First question…"

_**Max**_

There were a few reasons why I hated the idea of school. One, there were hundreds of other people there, making noise, shouting, laughing. For someone like me, it was pretty unbearable. Second, I've been "homeschooled" most of my life; if by homeschooled you mean information grafted into my brain at "birth." So going someplace to _learn_ was pretty redundant. Third, did I mention the noise?

When we got there in Lance's, also known as Avalanche, Jeep, things were pretty quiet. I looked at him, and as if he could read my thoughts, he said, "We're late. Most of the other kids are already in first period."

I rolled my eyes and opened the door almost as soon as he stopped the car. "Of course we're late," I muttered. I picked up my bag and just stood there for a while, just looking at the vast campus. "So this is Bayville High, huh?" I asked.

"Yup, in all its mutant hating glory," Toad said sarcastically as he _literally_ hopped out of the back seat. Toad was one of the more… well, he was _interesting_. We didn't call him "Toad" for nothing, though. He could definitely use some work in the hygiene department, I'll say that much. "What're we even doing here?" he asked, obviously annoyed. "School's a waste of time."

"Thank you!" I exclaimed. "I'm not the only one who thinks so."

Lance opened the door on his side and got out, practically slamming the door behind him. "We're here because Magneto wants us to be here," he said as-a-matter-of-factly. "We're supposed to be keeping an eye on the _princess_ over here," he said, nodding his head towards me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Pietro wasn't the only one to get on my nerves, but Lance wasn't nearly as bad. Sometimes he could actually be okay. Sometimes. "I can take care of myself," I muttered, looking away from him.

He shrugged. "Hey, I'm sure you can. We're just under orders. I never said I agreed with them."

I rolled my eyes and turned to get my bag from out of Lance's Jeep. I turned again to face the campus, and did a quick sniff. "Doesn't smell too bad, I guess. Smells like some people might be smoking here and there, though."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised," Lance replied nonchalantly, stretching his arms out. He let out an exasperated breath and dropped his arms to his sides. He too picked up his bag from the back of his Jeep, and carelessly slung it over his shoulder. "Alright, let's just get this over with," he said, and started walking up the steps to the school, hands in his jean pockets, Toad following in a similar manner.

Toad paused and turned back to me. "Hey, you coming or what?"

"Yeah, sure," I muttered, and took in a deep breath. The second I stepped forward though, I heard a loud ringing, too loud for my tastes, and immediately sank to my knees, tightly shut my eyes, and pressed my hands against my ears, trying in vain to muffle out that horrible sound.

"Max!" I heard Lance shout, rushing towards me. He dropped his bag and knelt down beside me, his hand on my shoulder, just as the ringing stopped.

I slowly opened my eyes and blinked. I removed my hands from my ears and looked up at Lance, still staring at me, worry apparent on his face. "What _was_ that?" I asked.

He breathed a sigh of relief, being reassured that I was seemingly okay. "That was just the school bell. First period's over. How're you feeling?"

"Just dandy," I muttered. "I swear, Pietro wants me to go deaf."

"Careful," he said, putting his hand under my arm to help pull me up. "That thing goes off about every hour and a half or so."

I nodded. "Alright, thanks." I picked up my bag I hadn't even realized I dropped, and followed Lance to the stairs that led to the main entrance. "Um… Where am I going now?" I asked hesitantly.

"Homeroom," he replied and opened the door, holding it open for me. "After you, _princess_," he said sarcastically. Okay, he can be nice when he wanted to be, but he could also ruin it when he wanted to. He knows I hate being called "princess." After all three of us were inside, Toad included, and we were surrounded by kids around our age hurrying to their next class.

Kids. Noise. Yikes.

Lance took a folded piece of paper from his pocket, and handed it to me. "Alright, here's your schedule, courtesy of Magneto himself."

"Magneto arranged my schedule?" I asked after taking the paper and looking through my various classes. "How'd he manage that?"

He shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? Looks like you've got homeroom with Toad." He turned and walked away, presumably to his own homeroom. "See ya later!" he called over his shoulder.

I took in a deep breath and turned to face Toad, who looked like a mix of bored to death/wanting to be anywhere but here. I didn't blame him. "Alright, where to?"

"Well, if it were up to me, we'd be outta here by now," he retorted. "But, orders are orders. Just follow me." He turned and hopped away in his Toad-like way, and didn't bother checking to see if I was following him. He led me to a door labeled 107-A, stood upright, and opened the door. He looked over his shoulder and said, "You coming or what?"

I caught the door and walked inside after him.

"Ready for the worst?" he asked me before taking his seat among numerous kids socializing with each other.

Well, hell. I was pretty much screwed.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's Notes**__: So, before we get started, I want to thank an amazing author known as __**Teddy R. Lupin**__, who's been my inspiration from the start. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be writing. She's given me the support, help, and praise I needed to keep going._

_Thanks for everything, Teddy! ^_^_

_And now without further interruptions, here's the long anticipated (or maybe not so anticipated) Chapter five!_

* * *

_**Erik**_

After my History period ended, half of the other students on a sugar high, I wove through the crowd of other kids trying to get to their homerooms as well. I met up with Bobby in the hallway, and we just sort of talked about everything and nothing on the way to homeroom. In a span of about three minutes, we had talked about the events from this morning, including Jubilee's lightshow, and we somehow ended up talking about the benefits of my ability to change my form, something I wasn't exactly keen on talking about in an open area.

"Alright, room 107-A," Bobby stated once we got to the door that led to our homeroom. "Homeroom, sweet homeroom," he said sarcastically as I took hold of the handle and opened the door. I wasn't looking forward as I walked in. Instead, I had my head turned over my shoulder to tell Bobby that school wasn't all that bad, but I was interrupted midsentence when I accidentally bumped into a girl in front of me, who was just standing there for some reason or another.

"Oh, sorry," I muttered, without looking at her first. "My bad. Are you alright?" When I finally looked up at her, I saw a pair of bright blue eyes looking at my own hazel ones. Her dark brunette hair was relatively short, the ends lying in layers on the tip of her shoulders, her overgrown bangs swept carelessly to the side of her face. She was holding a book to her chest, which I could see was a copy of _Hamlet_,and a dark messenger bag slung over her shoulder. She had some pretty defined features, and she was actually pretty attractive.

"You're right," Bobby nearly whispered from behind me. "Maybe it isn't so bad," he let out a small snicker.

I rolled my eyes as Bobby walked past me to his seat.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied in a soft, almost inaudible voice, glancing at Bobby as he walked past her. "There's just… a lot of noise, that's all."

I nodded in understanding. "Yeah, we teenagers just love to talk, don't we?" I joked, and then extended my hand towards her. "I don't think I've seen you around here before. I'm Erik." I smiled at her, hoping the new kid would feel at least slightly welcomed in the new environment.

She blinked, unsmiling, but took my hand anyway, if hesitantly. "Maxine," she said. "I usually go by Max though."

When our hands parted, she looked away awkwardly. I was guessing she was the shy type. "Well, nice to meet you Max." Looking at her book again, I asked, "_Hamlet_, huh? You like to read?"

She nodded slowly and replied, "Yeah," with a sheepish smile, almost like she was embarrassed. "Kind of a guilty pleasure. It, uh… it helps."

I knew what she meant. Most kids in our generation played video games or watched TV until their brains melted to get away from the world. Looks like Max read, instead. "No worries," I said with a smile. "Reading's great. What do you like to read?"

But before she could answer, we both heard someone calling, "Yo, Max!" I looked to my left to see Todd, or as some people liked to call him, Toad, waving his arm at her. "Get over here already!" he shouted in an aggravated tone, gesturing to an empty desk next to him.

So, she was a friend of Toad's? Huh. Well still, she couldn't be _all_ that bad… right?

* * *

_**Max**_

I groaned inwardly. "I'm coming!" I replied harshly. I turned to face Erik again and smiled apologetically. No need to show him my not-so-nice side. Yet. "Looks like I'm being summoned. _Again_."

"Don't worry about it," he replied, and smiled at me. "See you around," he said, and went to his own seat, next to the other boy I saw him with when he came in.

I rolled my eyes as I took my place in the seat Toad had saved for me, dropping my bag on the floor, and placing my book down on the desk in front of me.

"Why are you talking with the humans?" he asked, facing me. "They hate us here."

I shrugged. "Gambit told me to make some friends," I replied matter-of-factly. "Besides, he doesn't even know I'm a mutant."

He shook his head in annoyance and disapproval.

"I think I might've heard him before," I stated, crossing my arms over my chest. "He sounds familiar."

"Say what?"

"This morning, when Pietro asked me to listen in on Xavier's kids. Again. I think Erik was one of the guys I heard."

"So this kid's a mutant?" he asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder and in Erik's direction.

I nodded. "Yup, this kid's a mutant."

"Yeah? So what's his deal?"

I glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "Deal?"

"You know," he replied. "What can he do? What's his power?"

Oh. His _deal_. I rolled my eyes. "None of your business, Frog Boy," I retorted. "You want to know, ask him yourself." I was already annoyed enough being Pietro's little "spy," and I did _not_ need Toad asking me questions he didn't need to know the answer to.

So instead of dealing with Toad, I picked up my book, opened it, and continued reading from where I left off yesterday, drowning out all the noise, the voices…

_Alas_, I read, _poor Yorik. I knew him, Horatio_…

* * *

_**Erik**_

"Whoa, she's actually hanging out with _him_?" Bobby whispered to me as the speakers crackled to life. "That can't be good…"

We completely ignored the announcements coming out of the speakers as our homeroom teacher, Mr. Goodwin, typed up what I was assuming was his next lesson plan. Or something.

"What do you mean?" I whispered back. "Okay, yeah, he's not exactly the nicest guy around, but—"

"No, you don't get it," he said, shaking his head. "He's part of the Brotherhood. One of Magneto's guys. Rogue used to hang out with them before the professor convinced her they were bad news."

I blinked. Oh, of course. Just one thing, though. "Who's Magneto?"

"Uhh… Let's just say he's the bad guy," he muttered, looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "He's got this idea of a 'better world' for mutants," he used air quotes. "Basically wiping out every other person on the planet."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah… sounds like the bad guy, alright. And Toad? He's a bad guy too?" I raised an eyebrow at Bobby. Toad didn't look like he could do much damage to anyone, other than annoy them to the extreme.

"Pfft," he scoffed. "Toad couldn't hurt a fly, if he waited long enough not to eat them."

I made a disgusted face. "I _so_ did not need that visual, Bobby."

The school bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom. I glanced over at Max, and for a second it looked like she was in pain. Her eyes were shut tight, and she was clutching _Hamlet_ to her chest, almost for dear life. Then, she let out a huge breath, sighing with relief it seemed. She quickly picked up her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and rushed out of the room.

Bobby and I did the same, maybe not as quickly, and made our way to second period.

_**Author's Notes**_: _To those of you who hate altering POVs, trust me, you're not alone. I'm not a big fan of them myself, especially in the middle of a chapter. I'm going to try to improve that. Just bear with me for a while until that happens. _

_Suggestions are much appreciated_

_-Riina_


End file.
